Spreader and slip-form paver combination



Oct. 17, 1967 G. E. PERKINS ETAL 3,347,139

SPREADER AND SLIP-FORM PAVER COMBINATION Filed oct. 18, 1965 2 sheets-sheet 1 Illlllll Oct. 17, 1967 G. E. PERKINS ETA. 3,347,139

SPREADER AND SLIP-FORM PAVER COMBINATION United States Patent O 3,347,139 SPREADER AND SLlP-FORM PAVER COMBINATIGN Glen E. Perkins, 1428 40th Ave., and George W. Dale, 2900 27th St., both of Rock Island, Ill. 61201 Filed Oct. 18, 1965, Ser. No. 496,898 8 Claims. (Cl. 94-39) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLGSURE A first course concrete spreader and a second course slip form paver operate in tandem and are spaced for placing the mesh on the spread first course. The slip forms of the paver are extended forwardly to contain the concrete and are guided by the spreader which otherwise operates independently ahead of the paver.

This invention relates to slip-form pavers of the type shown and described in our United States Letters Patent No. 2,976,783 and relates in particular to a slip-form paving machine comprising a spreader and a slip-form paver operating in tandem to lay a concrete roadway in two successive courses having reinforcing placed intermediate said courses.

In laying a concrete roadway, the plastic concrete is deposited on the prepared subgrade between parallel forms and is first spread between the forms to a certain thickness and contour and its surface is then finished or smoothed. Where the forms are stationary, the spreader and finishing machines may operate separately on the forms or may be combined in a single machine or form paver.

Where the forms, referred to as slip-forms, are carried by the machine, the spreading and finishing operlations must be combined in a single machine or slipform paver.

The slip-form paver operates directly on the subgrade and may include trail forms which are rearward extensions of the slip-forms. Such trail forms are suitably connected to hold them in spaced relation and are flexible to the small degree necessary to allow the machine to move in a curved path where required. The trail forms extend some length behind the machine so that the concrete is retained between the forms until sufficiently set.

Steel reinforcing is generally embedded in a concrete roadway in one of two ways. Such reinforcing may be placed on the concrete during or immediately after spreading and then depressed to the proper depth prior to the smoothing and finishing steps, or it may instead be laid on a lower course of concrete and then covered with a second or final course. The latter method has heretofore required the use of separate machines operating on stationary forms. More specifically, the lower course is spread by a first machine and the steel reinforcing is then laid directly thereon. The second course is then laid on the reinforcing and is spread and finished by a` paver necessarily operating at some distance behind the first machine,

According to the present invention, the laying of steelreinforced concrete by the slip-form method of paving is made possible essentially by operating a first course spreader on lead forms projecting forwardly from the slip-forms of a slip-form paver; the lead forms and slipforms together comprising means for (a) continuously confining the concrete during spreading of the first course, (b) placement of the reinforcement, (c) spreading of the second course and (d) finishing of the roadway.

The drawings furnished herewith illustrate the best ICC mode of carrying out the invention as presently contemplated and set forth hereafter.

FIGURE l is a plan View of the first course spreader and of the forward part of the paver. The ends of two booms having buckets carrying the plastic concrete from concrete mixers, not shown, and located alongside the roadway being laid, are shown extending over the first and `second courses of concrete. The direction of the spreader as shown is at a slight angle respecting that of the paver. The two guide rollers which engage the inside faces of the lead forms of the paver are shown in plan. These guide rollers and other guide means, not shown, are carried by the spreader to provide the directional control of the lead forms;

FIG. 2 is a plan View of the paver and its trail forms supporting the sides of the concrete of the completed roadway;

FIG. 3 is a front elevation of the paver showing the essential parts thereof insofar as the present invention is concerned;

FIG. 4 is a similar front elevation of the first course spreader. The guide rollers of the spreader are omitted because of the small scale of the View;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged front elevation of one side of the first course spreader showing one of the forwardly projecting lead forms and the guide means therefor;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged plan View of one of the connections between the forwardly projecting lead forms and the slip-forms of the paver; and

FIG. 7 is a side view of the connection shown in FIG. 6.

The carriages of spreader 11 and paver 12 which operate in tandem on the subgrade 13 may be similar in construction and similar also to that shown and described in United States Letters Patent No. 2,869,931. The carriage of spreader 11 includes the frame 14, the operators platform |15 and the two trucks 16 which are connected by frame 14.

Each truck may be provided with ground engaging means such as the single endless `track 17 which is shown. The tracks 17 are driven through transmission means, not shown, by the engine 18 on or near platform 15 and either track 17 may be driven separately to provide the directional control of spreader 11. The strike-off blade 19 is connected to frame 14 by power operated means, not shown, which allows blade 19 to be raised and lowered by the operator. If desired, 4means may also be provided so that blade 19 can be reciprocated in the forward and rearward directions as shown and described in United States Letters Patent No. 2,976,784. Blade 19 is also adjustable so that the surface of the lower course of concrete may be crowned as required.

The carriage of paver 12 comprises the frame 24, the platform 25 and the trucks 26 connected by frame 24. Each truck 26 is provided with an endless track 27 which is driven by the engine 28 through transmission means, not shown.

The strike-off blade 29 of paver 12 is adjustable and may be movable in a manner similar to blade 19 of spreader 11. The additional apparatus of paver 12 for smoothing and finishing the surface of the second, final course of concrete is not shown, and reference is made to United States Patent 2,976,784 for a more detailed disclosure,

The slip-forms 31 of paver 12 comprise rigid, steel plates disposed vertically and carried by trucks 26. Each plate is carried by a truck with its lower edge parallel 'and adjacent to the inside edge of the lower section of tracks 26 of the truck. As shown and described in United States Patent No. 2,869,931, each plate or slip-form 31 may be an integral part of the frame over which the track 27 operates.

The trail forms 32 of paver 12 are joined by the beams 33 and are forwardly connected to the respective rear ends of slip-forms 31. Trail forms 32 and beams 33 may be similar to that described and claimed in United States Letters Patent No. 2,993,257.

The lead forms 34 of paver 12, as shown, comprise a pair of relatively heavy, steel channels having upper and lower flanges 35 and 36, respectively, and webs 37.

The webs 37 of the two channels are upright and the channels may slide on their lower flanges 36 which extend respectively outwardly.

Each lead form 34 extends forwardly of paver 12 and is detachably connected at each rear end to the `forward end of the corresponding slip-form 31 of the paver. The ends of the forms may be connected in any suitable manner. Generally, the forms are of such length that they have sufficient flexibility for lateral deflection in the operation of the spreader and paver around normal curves as shown in FIGURES l and 2. Preferably, the connection comprises a universal joint formed by a horizontal pivot pin 38 and a vertical hinge pin 39 as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. Lateral defiection of the lead forms 34 where pins 39 are employed will mainly occur about the axis of the pins.

Each truck 16 of spreader 11 is provided with the guide plate 41 and several brackets such as the bracket 42` which may be bolted to the truck as shown in FIG. 5. The brackets 42 of each truck 16 carry a plurality of lead-form guides in the form preferably of an inside guide roller 43a turnable on a vertical axis, a form supporting roller 43b engaging the underside of ange 35 and turnable on a horizontal axis, and an outside guide roller 43e` engaging the outer side of web 37 and turnable on a vertical axis, whereby the lead forms 34 and the spreader 11 are guided one by the other and the spreader is independently movable along the lead forms.

Where the slip-forms 31 are relatively closely spaced from the respective tracks 27 ias shown, it may be necessary that the trucks 16 of spreader 11 have a spacing ibetween them somewhat greater than the spacing between the trucks 26 of paver 12 in order that lead forms 34 may be maintained by spreader 11 in parallel relation as forward extensions of the slip-forms 31, and the rollers 43a, 43b and 43C accomplish that purpose. However,` it is preferred that the trucks 16 of the spreader be aligned as nearly as possible with the trucks 26 of the paver so that the sets of tracks 17 and 27 will ride on the same areas of the subgrade in guidance on the same guide line for accurate formation of the roadway.

In operation, lead forms 34 project forwardly of spreader 11 to receive the concrete which is placed on subgrade 13 in front of the spreader and between the forms. Any suitable means for placing concrete may be provided. The bucket 44 carried by and travelling beneath the boom 45 of a concrete mixer, not shown, operating along one side of the roadway is illustrative.

The concrete is discharged from bucket 44 in piles which are levelled by the strike-off blade 19 of the spreader. The levelling also provides filling between the piles of concrete deposited on subgrade 13 so that the surface of the concrete is at the level at which the steel reinforcing is to be located.

When spreader 111` has passed over the section of the first course of concrete thus laid, the reinforcing for that section, such as a mat of steel mesh 46, is placed thereon by the attendant crewmen. The section referred to is retained between lead forms 34 which are being pushed forwardly at some rate of travel by paver 12.

When the mesh 46 has been placed, the concrete for the second, final course is deposited thereover as from the bucket 47 carried by the boom 48 of a second concrete mixing machine, not shown, operating along the other side of the roadway.

As paver 12 passes over the concrete thus deposited over the mesh 46, the strike-olf blade 29 levels and ills the second course of concrete between the slip-forms .31 of the paver. As the slip-forms 31 retain both courses of concrete, the concrete is tamped and vibrated to eliminate any voids such as tend to occur particularly at the mesh or surface, the concrete is compressively molded to specified dimensions and the surface is smoothed to the desired finish.

As paver 12 moves forwardly, the finished section of concrete with embedded reinforcing is retained between the trail forms 32 of paver 12 until the concrete has set sufficiently so that the edges need no further mechanical support.

In operation, spreader 11 -and paver 12 are separately controlled and operate independently of each, except that the same operate on the same surfaces along the same guide line, their direction of movement being determined only by that of the desired roadway.

The dimensional arrows 51 show the lateral deiiection of lead forms 34 which may be accommodated to permit some variance of heading between the spreader and the paver.

The forward travel of spreader 11 may vary or be delayed for short periods to accommodate the work cycle of the mixer or other delivery of the concrete onto the subgrade ahead of the spreader, and to correlate the operations of the spreader and the paver.

Similarly, the forward travel of paver 12 may vary or be delayed to accommodate the work of the men placing the reinforcing, the work cycle of the second mixer or other delivery of the second course concrete, and to correlate the operations of the paver and the spreader. In general, the distance between the paver and the spreader varies continually within the limits dened by the lead forms 34. It is essential only that spreader 11 does not advance ahead of the forward ends of lead forms 34 or conversely allow too little space behind the spreader for placing the steel reinforcing on the first course of concrete.

The exibility of operation thus allowed, makes paving of a reinforced roadway by the slip-form method entirely practicable, particularly where the mesh is to extend well to the edge of the roadway and the edges `are to be well defined.

The present invention promotes use of the best constructionpractices which will provide uniformly dimensioned, monolithic slabs of reinforced concrete which is free of entrained air, segregated aggregates, cold joints or hot spots.

Various embodiments of the invention may be employed within the scope of the accompanying claims particularly pointing out and claiming the subject matter which is regarded as the invention.

We claim:

1. The combination of concrete paving vehicles operable directly on a subgraded roadsite comprising a rst course spreader and a second course slip-form paver for laying'a concrete roadway on such subgrade in two separately placed courses with intermediate reinforcing; said spreader having a carriage including a power driven truck at each side thereof and a first course spreading means intermediate said trucks, said spreader having retaining means between the truck and the `spreading means at each side of the spreader; said paver having a carriage including a power driven truck at each side of the carriage, laterally spaced, parallel slip-forms, and concrete spreading and finishing means intermediate said slipforms, said slip-forms having lead forms connected thereto and extending forwardly thereof and which further eX- tend between the respective retaining means of the spreader and further extend forwardly of the spreader; the sections of said lead forms forwardly of the spreader being disposed to receive therebetween the plastic concrete laid directly on the subgrade for spreading by said first course spreading means, and the sections of said lead forms rearwardly of the spreader being of such length as to allow placing the reinforcing on such first course after spreading and to receive the second course of plastic concrete placed therebetween and ahead of the paver.

2. The invention of claim 1 wherein said lead forrns comprise channels and said spreader includes guides slideably engaging the faces of the channels to accommodate independent travel of the spreader and the paver.

3. The combination of a first course spreader and a second course slip-form paver for laying a concrete roadway in two separately placed courses with intermediate reinforcing mesh; said spreader having a carriage including laterally spaced power driven trucks, a strike-off blade intermediate said trucks, and inner and outer guides intermediate each spreader truck and the adjacent end of the strike-off; said paver having a carriage including a slip- 1form at each side thereof, parallel leading and trailing forms connected to and respectively extending forwardly and rearwardly of said slip-forms, and spreading and finishing means carried by said carriage between said slipforms; said parallel leading forms slideably extending between the respective guides of the spreader, the forward sections of said leading forms being disposed to receive therebetween the first course of concrete placed ahead of the spreader and the rear sections of said leading forms being disposed to receive the second course of concrete placed ahead of the paver, said leading forms being laterally defiectable and said spreader being steerable whereby said guides provide the leading slip-forms with the desired direction of travel while allowing said spreader and paver to travel independently within limits as required for working the separately placed courses of concrete.

4. Slip-form paving means operable on a subgraded road site for laying thereon a reinforced concrete roadway in a single pass comprising, in combination, a spreader, laterally spaced parallel lead forms extending forwardly of said spreader, said spreader having laterally spaced guide means in which the lead forms are respectively movable longitudinally, a slip-form paver spaced behind said spreader and laterally spaced parallel slipforms and concrete spreading and finishing means between said slip-forms, said lead forms being connected to and constituting forward extensions of said slip-forms for defining the lateral edges of the roadway as it is being laid; whereby a first course of concrete may be deposited before and spread on the site by said spreader, reinforcement may be placed on the first course between the spreader and the paver while the first course is retained by said lead forms, a second course of concrete may be deposited between the lead forms over the reinforcement to be spread by the paver, and the two courses with the interposed reinforcement may be finished by the paver between the slip-forms thereof.

S. Slip-form paving means operable on a sub-graded road site for laying thereon a reinforced concrete roadway in a single pass comprising, in combination, a spreader, laterally spaced parallel lead forms extending forwardly of said spreader, said spreader having laterally spaced guide means in which the lead'forms are respectively movable longitudinally, a slip-form paver spaced behind said spreader and laterally spaced parallel slipforms and concrete spreading and finishing means between said slip-forms, said lead forms being connected to and constituting forward extensions of said slip-forms for defining the lateral edges of the roadway as it is being laid; whereby a first course of concrete may be deposited between said lead forms ahead of said spreader to be spread over the road site by said spreader, reinforcement may be placed on the first course in the space between the spreader and the paver while the first course is retained by said lead forms, a second course of concrete may be deposited between the lead forms over the reinforcement to be spread by the paver, and the two courses with the interposed reinforcement may be finished by the paver between the slip-forms thereof as the spreader, the paver and the forms advance along the road site.

6. Slip-form paving means operable on a sub-graded road site for laying thereon a reinforced concrete roadway in a single pass comprising, in combination, a spreader, laterally spaced parallel lead forms extending forwardly and rearwardly of said spreader, said spreader having laterally spaced guide means in which the lead forms are respectively movable longitudinally, a slip-form paver spaced behind said spreader and having laterally spaced parallel slip-forms and concrete spreading and finishing means between said slip-forms, said lead forms being connected to and constituting forward extensions of said slip-forms for defining the lateral edges of the roadway as it is being laid, and means between said lead forms and one of said spreader and said paver accommodating relative fore and aft movement between said spreader and said paver while maintaining the said assembly of paver,

spreader and forms; whereby a first course of concrete may be deposited on the road site before and spread over the site by said spreader, reinforcement may be placed on the first course in the space between the spreader and the paver while the first course is retained by said lead forms, a second course of concrete may be deposited between the lead forms over the reinforcement to be spread by the paver, and the two courses with the interposed reinforcement may be finished by the paver between the slip-forms thereof as the spreader, the paver and the forms advance along the road site.

7. The combination of a first course concrete spreader having spaced, power operated ground engaging trucks, spreader means intermediate said trucks, and spaced guide means carried by each truck; and a second course slipform paver having lead forms connected to and constituting forward extensions of the slip-forms, said lead forms slideably extending between the respective guide means of the spreader so as to be guided thereby.

8. The combination of a first course concrete spreader having spaced, power operated ground engaging trucks, spreader means intermediate said trucks, and spaced guide means carried by each truck; and a second course slipform paver having lead forms connected to and constituting forward extensions of the slip-forms, said lead forms slideably extending between the respective guide means of the spreader so as to be guided thereby, said poweroperated spreader trucks being separately controllable for the directional control of said lead forms and providing forward travel independently of the paver within limits as determined by the length of the lead forms.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,546,107 7/1925 Robb 94-39 2,976,783 3/1961 Perkins et al 94-46 2,976,784 3/ 1961 Perkins et al. 94-45 2,993,257 7/ 1961 Perkins et al.

JACOB Lf NACKENQFF, Primary E vcarrzincrt 

1. THE COMBINATION OF CONCRETE PAVING VEHICLES OPERABLE DIRECTLY ON A SUBGRADED ROADSITE COMPRISING A FIRST COURSE SPREADER AND A SECOND COURSE SLIP-FORM PAVER FOR LAYING A CONCRETE ROADWAY ON SUCH SUBGRADE IN TWO SEPARATELY PLACED COURSES WITH INTERMEDIATE REINFORCING; SAID SPREADER HAVING A CARRIAGE INCLUDING A POWER DRIVEN TRUCK AT EACH SIDE THEREOF AND A FIRST COURSE SPREADING MEANS INTERMEDIATE SAID TRUCKS, SAID SPREADER HAVING RETAINING MEANS BETWEEN THE TRUCK AND THE SPREADING MEANS AT EACH SIDE OF THE SPREADER; SAID PAVER HAVING A CARRIAGE INCLUDING A POWER DRIVEN TRUCK AT EACH SIDE OF THE CARRIAGE, LATERALLY SPACED PARALLEL SLIP-FORMS, AND CONCRETE SPREADING AND FINISHING MEANS INTERMEDIATE SAID SLIPFORMS, SAID SLIP-FORMS HAVING LEAD FORMS CONNECTED THERETO AND EXTENDING FORWARDLY THEREOF AND WHICH FURTHER EXTEND BETWEEN THE RESPECTIVE RETAINING MEANS OF THE SPREADER AND FURTHER EXTEND FORWARDLY OF THE SPREADER; THE SECTIONS OF SAID LEAD FORMS FORWARDLY OF THE SPREADER BEING DISPOSED TO RECEIVE THEREBETWEEN THE PLASTIC CONCRETE LAID DIRECTLY ON THE SUBGRADE FOR SPREADING BY SAID FIRST COURSE SPREADING MEANS, AND THE SECTIONS OF SAID LEAD FORMS REARWARDLY OF THE SPREADER BEING OF SUCH LENGTH AS TO ALLOW PLACING THE REINFORCING ON SUCH FIRST COURSE AFTER SPREADING AND TO RECEIVE THE SECOND COURSE OF PLASTIC CONCRETE PLACED THEREBETWEEN AND AHEAD OF THE PAVER. 